Two of South Korea’s AG gold medals come from modern pentathlon! Jung-hoo Jeon, Chang-wan Seo, and Jong-hyun Lee win men’s team event for back-to-back titles [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The South Korean men’s modern pentathlon national team jointly secured the second gold medal for the South Korean delegation at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.

Jung-hoo Jeon (31, Gangwon Provincial Sports Council), Chang-wan Seo (29, South Jeolla Provincial Government), and Jong-hyun Lee (28, Daejeon Metropolitan City Government) claimed the top spot in the men’s team modern pentathlon event held on the 20th at Anjo Sports Park in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Following Sung-min Seong (23, Korea National Sport University), who won the women’s individual event earlier that day, the second gold medal for the South Korean delegation also came from modern pentathlon. With this victory, South Korea achieved back-to-back titles in the men’s team event at the Asian Games, following their success at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023.

Modern pentathlon is a sport where each athlete competes in fencing, swimming, obstacle racing, and laser run. The laser run combines running with laser pistol shooting; athletes start sequentially based on points accumulated from previous events to determine the final rankings.

In the team event, no separate competition is held. The ranking is determined by summing the scores of the top three individual performers from each country. South Korea secured the gold medal by recording the highest total score through the combined results of Jung-hoo Jeon, Chang-wan Seo, and Jong-hyun Lee.

Jung-hoo Jeon’s late surge also shone brightly. After completing fencing, obstacle racing, and swimming, he entered the laser run in 9th place but quickly climbed the rankings through shooting and running, ultimately securing an individual silver medal as well. His improved individual performance directly contributed to South Korea’s team gold victory.

This tournament marks a turning point in modern pentathlon history. Equestrian events, which existed until the 2024 Paris Olympics, have been removed and replaced by obstacle racing. The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) officially excluded equestrian events after the Paris Games, making the Aichi-Nagoya tournament the first Asian Games held under the new system.

Starting from the 2026 season, the competition format has become even faster. Swimming distances have been reduced by half compared to previous years, and the laser run now includes more shooting rounds, emphasizing quicker progression and intense final-round ranking battles.

Despite the introduction of new events and formats, South Korea’s dominance in modern pentathlon continues. With Sung-min Seong winning the women’s individual event and the men’s team claiming victory, modern pentathlon has secured both of South Korea’s first two gold medals at these Games.

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